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Characterization factors for the ADR method (x‐axis) scatter plotted against characterization factors for the LPST method at the time horizons of 25, 100, and 500 years (y‐axis). Underlying data used to create this figure can be found in Table S1‐3in Supporting Information S1
Source publication
The dissipation of metals leads to potential environmental impacts, usually evaluated for product systems with life cycle assessment. Dissipative flows of metals become inaccessible for future users, going against the common goal of a more circular economy. Therefore, they should be addressed in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) in the area of pr...
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Purpose
The accessibility to most metals is crucial to modern societies. In order to move towards more sustainable use of metals, it is relevant to reduce losses along their anthropogenic cycle. To this end, quantifying dissipative flows of mineral resources and assessing their impacts in life cycle assessment (LCA) has been a challenge brought up...
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In Thailand, cassava waste is one of the main biomass residues and has the potential to be used as a biomass fuel. However, currently most cassava waste in Thailand is left in agricultural fields or burnt on site and is not utilised for any energy-related purposes. This research investigates the environmental impacts associated with three cassava w...
Purpose
Assessing the potential impacts (characterization) of mineral resource use in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) has long been debated. One of the most crucial challenges in the characterization models for mineral resource use is the consideration of the changing demand and availability of in-use stocks in the future, which is relevant to...
Citations
... Recently, the impact category of resource depletion for different metals has received attention by LCA practitioners, who have proposed that a distinction ought to be made between short and long-term depletion of metals incorporated into products, wastes, or released as emissions. For example, depletion of metals from sources that are not considered mineral resources within the time frame of the study, metals that are incorporated in products or wastes (that are not currently receiving treatment for recovery, but may serve as source for the recovery of metals in the future), and metals lost as emissions that may in the future form a new source of extraction, should be differentiated from truly dissipative emissions, i.e., emissions that result in present and future loss of accessibility to the resource in question [75,76]. To that end, methodologies and indicators have been proposed to estimate and incorporate into LCA the true dissipative losses of metals [75,77,78], with, for example, Ag exhibiting higher dissipation [75,78], and marginally lower lifecycle [79], compared to Cu. Insights from this type of analysis can be used to generate both midpoint and endpoint indicators [78,80], which can be used to improve the current method of calculating minerals' and metals' resource depletion impacts in Life Cycle Impact Assessment methodologies. ...
... A significant advancement in integrating the dissipative flow of elements into LCIA methods was made in 2021 by Charpentier Poncelet et al. [22]. In their work, they proposed two methods based on service time (ST), defined as follows: "the service provided by a resource as a part of the stocks in use in the economy, after its extraction from nature and until its dissipation after one or more applications". ...
... The first method proposed by Charpentier Poncelet et al. [22], called lost potential service time (LPST), quantifies the missed opportunity to use resources once extracted relative to a target: the Optimum Service Time (OST). The choice of time horizon is crucial to accommodate the interests of the various stakeholders and to enable comparison with other characterization methods. ...
... The second method [22], represented by the average dissipation rate (ADR) indicator, refers to the overall annual dissipation rate of various metals independent of any specific time horizon. To calculate CFs in the two cases, data from 1997 to 2015 were screened, considering twenty nine end-use sectors for various metals, the yields of the main processes in each life cycle phase, and dissipative uses. ...
Mineral resources and metals are integral to modern society, with growing demand driven by recent technological advancements. Life cycle assessment (LCA) provides a valuable framework for assessing resource use, and numerous methodologies have been developed to address both the midpoint and endpoint levels of life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the existing LCIA methodologies related to minerals and metals, with a focus on recent developments, progress made, and potential future directions. It examines these LCIA methods in terms of resources considered, underlying assumptions, data sources, and identified limitations. According to the nature of the underlying considerations, the various methods are grouped into different families. In addition, the novelty of this article is to place raw material criticality considerations alongside LCA characterization methods; however, only one class of critical raw materials, rare earth elements (REEs), is considered. These REEs are mainly used in electrical and electronic components (e.g., electric vehicle motors) and in various renewable energy technologies (e.g., wind turbines) due to their unique properties that make them difficult to substitute. However, their supply is constrained by limited global reserves and their concentration in a few countries. This situation highlights the need for more reliable and accurate data on resource production and recycling. Additionally, this review presents case studies that apply LCIA methods to real-world scenarios, illustrating current capabilities as well as areas where further research and refinement are needed.
... Ferro & Bonollo 2019 endorse this vision providing an example of the integration of criticality indicators in classic material selection for product design. Criticality assessment would therefore benefit from life cycle engineering, for instance, to evaluate the dissipation of resources (e.g., Charpentier Poncelet et al. 2021). ...
Under the umbrella concepts of upscaling and emerging technology, a wide variety of phenomena related to technology development and deployment in society are examined to meet societal imperatives (e.g., environment, safety, social justice). The design literature does not provide an explicit common theoretical and practical framework to clarify the assessment method to handle “an” upscaling. In this nebulous context, designers are struggling to identify the characteristics to anticipate the consequences of emerging technology upscaling. This article therefore first proposes a structuring framework to analyze the literature in a wide range of industrial sectors (energy, chemistry, building, etc.). This characterization brought to light five prevalent archetypes clarifying the concepts of upscaling and emerging technology. Then, a synthesis of invariants and methodological requirements for designers is proposed to deal with upscaling assessment according to each archetype, based on a literature review of existing design methods. This literature review process showed a disparity in treatment for some archetypes, regarding the industrial sector. A discussion is consequently proposed in the conclusion to guide design practices.
... The generic life cycle of mineral resources (Adapted from CharpentierPoncelet et al. 2021) ...
The study addressed the negative impact of mining tailings on the environment and the high storage costs in the Peruvian mining industry. The objective was to evaluate the technological and environmental feasibility of replacing traditional sand in concrete with polymetallic tailings within the framework of the circular economy. Concrete mixtures with polymetallic tailings were prepared and evaluated for properties such as workability, unit weight, temperature, air content, and strength. It was demonstrated that polymetallic tailings can partially replace sand in conventional concrete for basic structural applications such as floors, walls, and pedestals. The tests indicated that the concrete temperature remained within acceptable limits, averaging 20.2°C, and the air content was low, favoring material strength. The unit weight of all mixtures corresponded to normal-weight concrete, with values exceeding 2300 kg/m³. The compressive strength of concrete with 40% sand replacement by tailings reached 164.6 kg/cm² after 28 days of curing, demonstrating its suitability for plain concrete applications. These results validate the feasibility of using polymetallic tailings in concrete production, contributing to reducing environmental impact and storage costs associated with mining tailings.
... This call for scientific development has been addressed by various research groups. Recent methodological developments include frameworks for dissipation-based assessment of resource use (Beylot et al. 2020;Charpentier Poncelet et al. 2019), life cycle inventory (LCI) concepts Lai and Beylot 2022), and LCIA methods (Ardente et al. 2022;Charpentier Poncelet et al. 2021;Dewulf et al. 2015;Owsianiak et al. 2022;. ...
... To avoid the uncertainty related to resource emissions used as proxy for dissipative losses in current LCI databases (unclosed mass balances in some datasets, origin of emissions from resources or impurities, concentrations in receiving compartments), Charpentier Poncelet et al. (2021) follow a different approach. The authors developed two LCIA methods which use the concept of dissipation in their characterization models, but the resulting CFs are applied to the resource extraction and not resource emission inventory flows. ...
... ADR depends on the function of resource dissipation over time and is calculated as the inverse of the total service time, which can be understood as the area below the dissipation function measured in kg ⋅ years per kg extracted. The second LCIA method, LPST, denotes the lost potential service time within a certain timespan, which is defined as the difference between the optimum service time (no dissipation, rectangular area of kg ⋅ years per kg extracted in a dissipation over time diagram) and the actual service time (area below the dissipation function, kg ⋅ years per kg extracted) within this time span (Charpentier Poncelet et al. 2021). In this work, a time horizon of 100 years is used, and the indicator is termed LPST100. ...
Purpose
Impacts of mineral resource use on the availability of resources can be assessed using a broad range of methods. Until recently, life cycle inventory (LCI) and life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) models have been based on resource extraction. As extracted resources are not necessarily “lost” for future use, recent methodological developments have shifted the focus from resource extraction to resource dissipation. This paper aims at reviewing dissipation-based LCIA methods, testing them in a case study, analyzing potential implications for the product environmental footprint (PEF), and providing recommendations for future method development.
Method
Five recently developed LCIA methods have been reviewed and compared based on 22 criteria, such as the forms and time horizons of dissipation considered, scientific publication, and number of characterization factors (CFs). Additionally, the abiotic depletion potential (ADP) method has been included to serve as a non-dissipation-based reference. All methods are tested in a case study on a theoretical product, designed solely for demonstration purposes, and consisting of 1 kg of the metals aluminum, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, nickel, and zinc. In addition to the absolute LCIA results, the contributions of metal production stages and individual resource extractions/emissions have been investigated. Finally, normalization and weighting have been carried out to analyze consequences of replacing ADP with the new dissipation-based methods in the context of PEF.
Results and discussion
Most recently developed LCIA methods take a long-term perspective, cover emissions of resources to the environment (and partly technosphere), and vary in the number of CFs and resources covered. The case study results obtained by ADP are dominated by the molybdenum dataset; the results of the dissipation-based LCIA methods are strongly influenced by the cobalt dataset. All results are strongly sensitive to the LCI database used (ecoinvent or GaBi). Normalization and weighting revealed that the mineral resource use impact result dominates the aggregated PEF score (57%), when using the currently recommended ADP model. Shifting from the resource extraction-based ADP to dissipation-based models can reduce the contribution to 23% or < 1% depending on the method.
Conclusion
The development of methods addressing mineral resource use in LCIA has shifted from resource extraction to dissipation. The analyzed methods are applicable and lead to different findings than the extraction-based ADP. Using the newly developed methods in the context of PEF would significantly change the relevance of the mineral resource use impact category in comparison to other environmental impacts.
... • Influence of reducing the weight of passenger cars with aluminium instead of steel on the global carbon footprint (LCA), considering dynamic MFA of cars, steel, aluminium and energy supply (Modaresi et al., 2014). • Usage of dynamic MFA for the dissipation of metals across life cycles (although technically it has been modelled as an LCIA) (Charpentier Poncelet et al., 2021). • Combining IO-based LCA, MFA, and process-based LCA in a framework for greenhouse gas reduction by implementing a circular economy, applied to Switzerland (Wiprächtiger et al., 2023). ...
At the core of Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA), is a life cycle perspective, implying the coverage of all related human/industrial processes that constitute the studied product system and its overall sustainability impacts for a given functional unit (the function fulfilled by the considered product(s)). In this chapter, we focus on the modelling of a product system and thus the quantification of the life cycle inventory (LCI) results, comprising all elementary flows, pressures, or conditions, of all the processes, scaled to the functional unit, which combined induce the sustainability impacts. First, basic aspects of LCI modelling are explained in a general and open manner, starting from modelling a process to propagating the product system derived from a research goal (attributional versus consequential). Second, the common computational framework based on matrix inversion, which has been the foundation of many LCI databases and software tools, is discussed, and some of its key limitations are highlighted. Third, other approaches brought forward in the literature to tackle these limitations and enhance the LCI modelling in various ways are then introduced. Although they are mainly considered for life cycle assessment (LCA), these approaches are relevant for the LCI of any life cycle method, thus also of LCSA. We elaborate concisely on eight prominent advanced approaches, ranging from non-linear modelling to digital twin techniques. Key case studies are pinpointed, primarily those that perform an advanced approach in combination with LCSA. A specific hurdle for LCSA is also pinpointed: the more limited, non-quantitative data and challenging modelling of many social flows and processes. At the end of this Chapter, we pave a path forward where we foresee more thorough development and combinations of advanced LCI techniques with systematic application of these to full LCI databases and a translation into user-friendly tools.
... In the recent years, in parallel to, or after, the GLAM2 review and recommendation work, several methods have been developed to address reduction of resource accessibility and resource dissipation (i.e., full inaccessibility) in LCA, both at the LCI and LCIA levels, namely, Environmental Dissipation Potential (EDP; van Oers et al. 2020b), Abiotic Resource Project method (ARP; Owsianiak et al. 2022), Average Dissipation Rate and Lost Potential Service Time (ADR/LPST; Charpentier-Poncelet et al. 2021, 2022c, and Joint Research Centre-LCI (JRC-LCI; Beylot et al. 2021), complemented by JRC price-based (Ardente et al. 2023) to capture value loss. Comparatively, methods related to depletion, future efforts, thermodynamic accounting, and to a lower extent supply risks, received in the meanwhile less emphasis from both scientific community and standardization/harmonization initiatives (e.g., in the PEF context, towards potentially delivering new recommendation). ...
... CFs published by Charpentier-Poncelet et al. (2021) for 18 metals are primarily based on dynamic material flow analyses (MFAs) results. The data implemented in the dynamic MFA modelling in particular include: distribution of metals in 29 sectors of use, product lifetimes specific to each of these 29 applications, process yields, and collection and functional recycling rates, whose associated values are drawn from massive literature data collection. ...
Purpose
The depletion-based ADP method has been extensively used for more than 20 years in LCA. A discussion on the core concepts and assumptions it is grounded on is however still needed. Several methods were recently developed to address reduction of resources accessibility and dissipation in LCA; namely, EDP, ADR/LPST, ARP, and JRC-LCI, complemented by price-based JRC to capture value loss. This article aims at critically analyzing these methods.
Methods
It first describes the methods, in terms of concept, target, resource flows in scope, midpoint and/or endpoint impact mechanism, and temporal scope. It then performs an in-depth analysis of these methods, in order (i) to discuss assumptions and modelling choices from a user perspective (LCA practitioners and decision-makers) and (ii) to highlight and discuss the scientific-evidence and scenarios on which they build.
Results and discussion
This article gives an overview of the methods’ relevance to the safeguard subject, model robustness, data quality and completeness, and operability. The ADPUltimate Reserves, EDP, and ARP methods rely on several assumptions, at the same time core in the modelling and scientifically questionable for some aspects. ADPUltimate Reserves and EDP methods both do not address the loss of value of mineral resources, while the JRC-LCI (and potentially ARP) methods combined with JRC price-based, and the ADR/LPST endpoint, do (considering economic value). Overall two schools of thought are identified, regarding recent methods that strive addressing mineral resources use in LCA: a first one building on currently available LCI databases, implementing assumptions and proxies (ADR/LPST, EDP, ARP), and a second one pledging for new LCIs to be developed (JRC-LCI method).
Conclusions
This article highlights and challenges some of the key underlying choices and assumptions on which the reviewed methods are based. Intentionally, it does not provide any recommendation on which methods shall be implemented. Yet we encourage authoritative initiatives in the LCA domain (e.g., UNEP GLAM or PEF) and LCA practitioners to cautiously and critically select LCIA methods. We moreover highlight that the approach undertaken by the “first school” is certainly easier to operationalize in the short-term, though it necessarily requires proxies to overcome unfit-for-purposes existing LCI datasets. On the contrary, the effort initiated by the “second school” calls for a deep change of paradigm on modelling mineral resources in LCIs, which certainly requires a longer timeframe for implementation. The latter however looks very promising for LCAs to be truly supportive of more resource-efficient products and systems.
... The collection and recycling of WEEE is still an issue for most countries, especially in the Global South (Shittu et al., 2021;Xavier et al., 2021). This often leads to the loss and dissipation of electronic components in the urban environment (Charpentier Poncelet et al., 2021Poncelet et al., , 2022Kurisu et al., 2020) which further impairs the implementation of circular economy strategies (Guzzo et al., 2021(Guzzo et al., , 2022. In this sense, the recycling of PCBs can recover precious metals and aid in supply security issues (Charles et al., 2020;Hofmann et al., 2018). ...
Over the past decade, digitalization and digital technologies (DTs) have undergone rapid evolution, transforming how goods and services are produced and consumed in modern societies. Health and well-being sectors have embraced this digital revolution. Besides the economic and social benefits, digitalization can significantly enhance patient diagnostics and prognostics while improving overall service efficiency. To ensure long-term sustainability, it is important to assess and reduce the environmental impacts of digital services. This article examines the life cycle impacts of a digital service implemented in three elderly living schemes (ELSs) located in the United Kingdom (UK). The digital service consists of six electronic devices (EDs) that enable communication between residents, visitors, staff, and offsite monitoring (OM). The equipment is connected using Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology, which includes smart network switch and uninterruptable power supply units. The digital service's global warming potential (GWP) was estimated at 718–741 kg CO2 eq./resident for two of the ELSs and 1509 kg CO2 eq./resident for a third ELS, considering a service period of 20 years. The reason for the significant difference is the greater use of air conditioner (A/C) units to cool down server rooms and fewer residents in the third scheme. The consumption of electricity was found to be the main contributor to most of the environmental impacts. However, in certain categories such as mineral resource scarcity, freshwater eutrophication, and freshwater and marine ecotoxicity potentials, printed circuit boards (PCBs) were the main contributors. A sensitivity analysis considering different national electricity mixes demonstrated that the French electricity grid promoted the reduction in 14 impact categories, whereas the German, Italian, Spanish and Japanese grids increased on average impacts on most categories. Another sensitivity analysis demonstrates that reducing A/C unit running time by 28% resulted in an average impact reduction of 5.5%, becoming equivalent to the results obtained for the French electricity grid. Finally, extending the expected lifespan of electronic equipment by 20% yielded the highest average decrease in environmental impacts (8.1%). While digitalization has the potential to enhance patient healthcare and reduce costs, it is crucial to carefully assess its environmental impacts and implement mitigation strategies to ensure sustainable development in the healthcare sector.
... The model for the annual dissipation rate of resources is based on the theory of dissipation patterns, which were mapped by Helbig et al. (2020) through working with material flow analyses and developed by Charpentier et al. (2021), which is shown in Fig. 2. All dissipative flows in different life cycle stages, including primary production, manufacturing, recycling, use, and waste management, were considered. Dissipation pattern implies the mass of the metal that is still in service per kilogram extracted along the time series. ...
... The data to be input in order to calculate the AEDP for the different elements and the data sources chosen in this method are sourced or elaborated as follows. The exact data for ST TOT,i are obtained from the calculation of the dissipation curve plotted by Helbig et al. (2020), which was released by Charpentier et al. (2021). The data of C tailing+slag,i is derived from material flow analysis works of other authors (Graedel et al. 2004Johnson et al. 2005Johnson et al. , 2006Mao et al. 2008;Reck et al. 2008;Wang et al. 2007). ...
... An arbitrary dissipation pattern for metal i inCharpentier et al. (2021) ...
Purpose
Abiotic resource is included as an impact category in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). The most widely accepted LCIA method is abiotic resource depletion potential (ADP). However, numerous studies have illustrated the limitations of the ADP method, such as the neglect of resources that can be recycled. This paper aims to develop a comprehensive and objective method for assessing the impact of resource use on future generations, which can be used at different stages of the life cycle.
Methods
Based on the above research objectives, this paper proposes a new method, the abiotic resource expected dissipation potential (AEDP) method, for assessing the impacts of current resource use on the abiotic resource accessibility. The method is divided into four impact categories based on different endpoints of the dissipative flow and replaces the resource extraction rate with the global annual dissipation rate and adds anthropogenic stocks to the total reserves, resulting in the characterization factor AEDPs. Finally, the four impact categories are weighted to obtain a final impact score for resource use.
Results
Results of the new method are presented as a multi-dimensional reflection of natural reserves, dissipation rates, and extraction rates of resources. The comparison between AEDPs and ADPs revealed differences between them, but they were not significant. A higher power of the total reserves in the AEDP formula can overemphasize the effect of natural reserves on the characterization factor. Furthermore, other natural reserve data was used as alternative indicators in the sensitivity analysis.
Conclusion
The new assessment method enables the future impacts of abiotic resource use to be more accurately assessed. It can be used at any life cycle stage to support relevant stakeholder decision-making. However, a broader database is required to be developed to calculate more characterization factors. Moreover, the over-dominance of reserve data in the characterization factors overshadows the influence of other dimensions. Consequently, further research is necessary to improve the operability and plausibility of this method.
... Moreover, the environmental dissipation potential (EDP) (van Oers et al. 2020) identifies emissions to the environment as dissipative flows in the long term. The ADR and LPST methods (Charpentier Poncelet et al. 2021) aim to characterize flows of resources extracted from the ground with factors associated to global average indicators associated to dissipation (lifetime of resources, dissipation rates) and partially support the identification of hotspots induced by resources along the life cycle. ...
Purpose
Resource dissipation (RD) is a phenomenon that has been identified as a barrier toward a circular economy (CE) due to potential losses of value and functionality in the technosphere along the life cycle of products. Concerns around the availability and accessibility of resources make relevant the development of methods that allow to identify the impacts associated to these losses.
Methods
The economic value dissipation potential (EVDP) is an impact assessment method in life cycle assessment (LCA) that integrates two aspects in the evaluation of RD: the identification of potentially dissipative flows and the value loss associated to them. It is conceived to complement previous efforts to assess RD. First, the method proposes a function that estimates the fraction of a mass flow that can be considered potentially dissipative by comparing the resource concentration in dissipation compartments with a threshold, set as a current estimation of a global average minimum grade for primary resource extraction. Next, the method assigns a value to these flows based on the integration of the price and economic importance of the resources to model potential value loss due to dissipation.
Results and discussion
A first application of the method allows to obtain pre-calculated characterization factors (CFs) for 15 resources. These factors are applied to a case study on a NMC lithium-ion battery recycling process through hydrometallurgy. According to the method, the process allows to avoid 3.79 USD-eq in losses due to dissipation per kilogram of treated battery. This method and the results of its application are discussed in relation to the JRC and EDP methods, two other methods that capture RD in LCA.
Conclusions
The results of the application of the EVDP method based on economic considerations provide complementary information to current impact assessment methods, therefore having the potential to support decision-making processes based on LCA. Potential improvements vary on feasibility; the main barrier is the absence of detailed information to generate CFs for more resources. Moreover, the granularity required to apply the method is not currently found in LCIs; also, CFs require constant updates to follow the dynamic nature of the data.
